Transforming Indian Agriculture-India 2040: Productivity, Markets, and Institutions - Hardcover

Ferroni, Marco

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 8132110617 ISBN 13: 9788132110613

Publisher: SAGE Publications Pvt. Ltd, 2013

Synopsis

India′s recent performance in agriculture has been favorable, with agricultural production growing over the past 30 years. Yet there is widespread consensus that, relative to the rest of the economy, agriculture is lagging and that it can and must do much better to support india′s overall high economic growth and dynamism.

This book explores the future and presents the audacious question: what could the agricultural sector in India look like 30 years from now and how should it look if it is to successfully meet the needs of the country′s affluent society?

In order to address this question, this book proposes a set of recommendations that should be implemented on a priority basis. These recommendations are as follows: (i) make public programs much more focused and effective; (ii) recognize water as a critical, long-term constraint to India′s agricultural growth and give top priority to significantly improving the efficiency of water use; (iii) promote new high-yield seeds and related technologies, including mechanization, to improve yields and productivity; (iv) improve the effectiveness of agricultural research and extension; (v) support further improvements of the farm-to-market value chain and reduce spoilage; and (vi) improve markets and incentives related to agriculture through reforms of prices, trade, and subsidies.

The vision of what India′s economy in 2040 should and can look like, with an affluent and modern agricultural sector, will require fundamental changes in both the demand and supply sides of Indian agriculture. The vision is based not on projections but on how India′s agricultural sector needs to adapt to match the economy′s progress as a whole. This vision is plausible but it is by no means certain.

About this title

About the Author:

Marco Ferroni is an expert in international agriculture and sustainability issues. He joined the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture as its Executive Director in 2008 after a career in multilateral institutions and government. Before joining the Foundation, Dr. Ferroni worked at the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank in Washington DC. As Deputy Manager of the Sustainable Development Department of the IDB, he had responsibility for regional sector policy and technical support to the Bank’s country departments. As the IDB’s Principal Evaluation Officer he assessed the relevance, performance and results of Bank strategies and investments. As a senior advisor at the World Bank he advised on donor relations and directed work on international public goods and their role in development, foreign aid and international affairs. Earlier in his career, he was an economist and division chief for economic affairs and international trade in the government of Switzerland. He holds a doctoral degree in agricultural economics from Cornell University.

Review:

The book explores important issues on current status and future prospects of Indian agriculture....This book is useful for agricultural economists, policy makers, development practitioners, scholar and others who have interest in agriculture and economic development policy.

(Foreign Trade Review, Vol 48, April 2013)

The book will provoke a discussion of longer term policy options in agriculture over the next three decades. This is recommended for students, field demonstrators, extension officials and researchers.

(Journal of Rural development, Vol 32, April-June 2013)

About this edition

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Pvt. Ltd
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 8132110617
• ISBN 13: 9788132110613
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368